Selection for the Germany eight at the base in Dortmund
Since last autumn, young rowers in particular from the U23 sector have been systematically prepared for the upcoming tasks and challenges at the base of the “Team Deutschlandachter” in Dortmund; you could also say: a selection is taking place – and it’s tough!
The training center is located on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, and the pre-selection took place here immediately after the 2021 Olympic Games. Who is strong enough in the national squad to present their performance to the national coach? Uwe Bender (63) took over the post from Ralf Holtmeyer in 2016. Before that, he was part of the coaching team and took care of the lightweight belt rowers.
DRV-Spring long-haul in Leipzig is the basis of the selection
During the winter, there has been a lot of sailing in the eight, but different boat combinations have often been tried out. Which rowers are team players, who can row particularly well with others? Who is the leader of the pack? The chemistry in the boat has to be right, otherwise even the best ergometer readings are useless.
It got down to business at the beginning of April DRV-Spring long-haul in Leipzig. 6,000 meters on the water in pairs and an additional 2,000 meters on the ergometer were required. “The physical ability of the rowers is a very important criterion. Physical strength is a must“, says Bender. The ergometer time has a major impact on the overall assessment of the athlete; whoever manages the 2,000 meters in under six minutes has already taken a small step towards the eighth place in Germany.
Decision after the German small boat championships in Krefeld
Next station of the selection: A good placement in the two at the German Small Boat Championships last weekend (April 22-24, 2022) in Krefeld on the Elfrather See. It is the criterion that is given the most weight when determining the Germany eight.
Here the duo with Olaf Roggensack and Mattes Schönherr superiorly won the A-final of the best six boats. The combination of Berlin and Potsdam (RC Tegel/RC Potsdam) dominated their races, and the other podium places also went to rowers from the “Team Deutschlandachter” (Wolf-Niclas Schröder/Torben Johannesen – 2nd place; Benedict Eggeling/Jasper Angl – place 3). “We will now see how we get together and make the best of it. But things are looking very good for Olaf and me as far as a roll seat in the Germany eight is concerned.“explained Mattes Schönherr.
On the other hand, the weekend was disappointing for another boat from Dortmund. The crew Julian Garth/Laurits Follert (Crefeld Rowing Club), based on the Elfrather See, only achieved 4th place in the B final (10th place overall).
Germany Eight must be completely rebuilt after the Olympics in Tokyo
After the performances shown by the athletes, national belt coach Uwe Bender and his team of coaches are now spoiled for choice. The young guard from the U23 area has shown that the upheaval can succeed in the eights. “The younger rowers, who mainly train in Dortmund, have shown good development overall. When I gave them hope last year that they had realistic chances of making the Germany Eighth, everyone went about it with great motivation,” explained national coach Uwe Bender.
And Jasper Angl from the U23 area added: “It’s a rebuild: Not many have continued after Tokyo. There are now a lot of young (athletes) in the team, so it’s our main task right now to bring the team back to this top level. But the task is not that simple.“